Palestinian Authority's "Crimes of High Treason"

Hamas is at least being honest about its intentions to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.

But Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and his people are afraid of admitting to the refugees that Arab and Palestinian leaders have been lying to them since 1948 by asking them to stay in their camps because one day they will return to their non-existent villages and homes. The same problem is also true of other matters, such as a two-state solution, the status of Jerusalem and the future borders of a Palestinian state. Palestinians consider any concessions to Israel as "crimes of high treason."

If and when Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ever resume, neither Abbas nor any future Palestinian leader will be able to reach a compromise with Israel when the Palestinian Authority itself continues to promote such anti-Israeli sentiments.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership continues to give false hope to Palestinians regarding the "right of return" to their former villages and towns in Israel, as do the leaderships of most Arab countries.

This is what the Arab and Palestinian leaders have been doing since the establishment of Israel in 1948 -- and why millions of Palestinians continue to live in refugee camps throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Instead of helping the refugees and encouraging them to move on with their lives, Arab and Palestinian leaders continue to ask them to stay where they are because, they will are told, they will return to the homes of their grandfathers and great grandfathers inside Israel.

Arab and Palestinian leaders are afraid to confront the refugees with the truth sixty-seven years later, namely that the majority, if not all, will never return to towns and villages that no longer exist inside Israel.

When PA President Mahmoud Abbas, back in 2012, made the "mistake" of saying that he was not seeking to return to his birthplace of Safed in northern Israel, Palestinians across the political spectrum strongly condemned him for abandoning the "right of return," with many dubbing him a "traitor."

In a sense, Abbas can only blame himself for the outrage his comments sparked among his people. After all, he has been telling Palestinians for many years that the "right of return" is "sacred" and should never be relinquished. His media, especially the TV and radio stations, regularly refer to Acre, Haifa and Jaffa as "Palestinian cities inside the Green Line."

The strong condemnations that followed his remark about Safed forced him to backtrack, denying that he had agreed to waive the right of return.

"My words about Safed were a personal position, and they do not indicate a relinquishment of the right of return, since it is not possible for anyone to give up the right of return, because the wording of all the international and the Arab and Islamic resolutions states that a just and agreed solution must be found to the refugee problem, based on UN Resolution 194, with the word "agreed" meaning in agreement with the Israeli side," Abbas clarified.

Since then, to avoid further criticism, Abbas and other Palestinian leaders have refrained from talking about the sensitive issue of the "right of return." The only time they make any mention of the issue is when they call on Palestinians to mark "Nakba Day" (Day of Catastrophe) on the anniversary of the establishment of Israel.

Nakba Day is marked every year in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with rallies and marches, during which speakers and participants emphasize that they will never abandon the dream of returning to villages and towns inside Israel. On this day, many Palestinians also hold a key, which is the symbol of the "right of return." Some, such as Hamas, go as far as repeating their call for the destruction of Israel.

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is responsible for organizing and funding "Nakba Day" events, which often turn into anti-Israel protests and clashes with Israel Defense Forces and police.

On May 7, the PA decided that this year the Palestinians would again mark "Nakba Day" with numerous rallies. The government set May 15, as the day for the events, calling it a "Comprehensive National Day." It urged all Palestinians to participate in the rallies, during which a siren of "mourning" would be sounded for 67 seconds – the number of years since Israel's establishment. Churches have also been advised to ring their bells in "mourning" over the creation of Israel.

The PA also instructed its Ministry of Education to devote the first class in all schools to acquaint pupils with the "right of return" for refugees and the Palestinian "Nakba." In addition, it instructed all mosque preachers to devote their sermons to talking about the "Nakba" during Friday prayers. The Palestinian government is also planning a major rally in Ramallah to mark the event.

Hamas, for its part, has already launched a series of events in the Gaza Strip in "mourning" over the establishment of Israel. One of the events includes inviting Palestinians to come to its border with Israel, and watch "occupied Palestine" through special binoculars.

At the event, Hamas leader Ahmed Bahr announced that his movement was preparing 100,000 fighters "to liberate Palestine." He added: "The resistance groups will continue to carry weapons and we will not give up our land and holy sites. The Israeli occupation must go. No one is entitled to relinquish the right of return or make any concessions on it. Anyone who violates this would be committing the crime of high treason."

Hamas is at least being honest about its intentions to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state. But the Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank continues to deceive not only its people, but also the international community, with regards to the refugee problem.

By sponsoring, funding and encouraging Palestinians to take to the streets to "mourn" the establishment of Israel and remain committed to the "right of return," Abbas and his officials in Ramallah are not being honest with their people. They are undoubtedly afraid of telling their people that Israel would never allow millions of Palestinians into its borders. They are even more afraid of admitting to the refugees that Arab and Palestinian leaders have been lying to them since 1948 by asking them to stay in their camps because one day they will return to non-existent villages and homes.

If and when the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ever resume, PA leaders will not be able to make any concessions on the refugee issue. They will not because they know that their people would not accept any kind of concessions on this matter. Once again, the PA leaders will have only themselves to blame for having radicalized their people over the years to a point where Palestinians consider any concessions to Israel as a "crime of high treason." This stance not only applies to the refugee issue, but also to other matters, such as the two-state-solution, the status of Jerusalem and the future borders of a Palestinian state. Neither Abbas nor any future Palestinian leader will be able to reach a compromise with Israel when the Palestinian Authority itself continues to promote such anti-Israel sentiments.

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10 Reader Comments

mel simon • May 15, 2015 at 07:16

Thank you for an excellent, if scary, article that the entire international community should read but probably never will. However, not only is the PA responsible for the problem that exists but also Israel.

Why, for so many years have so many politicians given the world the impression there's a solution to the conflict, that they're only waiting for the Palestinians to return to negotiate, that they're willing to compromise for peace. When in fact, just as Abbas continues to display cowardice in lying to his people about the Right of Return; so does Bibi by appeasing the settlers and others for votes.

Both sides in the Arab Israel conflict are guilty of giving the world a deliberately false and misleading sense that the two sides by negotiating can solve the 68 year old conflict. In fact, telling their peoples the unpalatable truth would ignite the flames of Hell, as long as the Palestinians consider any concessions Crimes of Treason, and when Israelis consider them non starters.

However, maybe (an unlikely maybe) a Mandela/De-klerk scenario might have a chance: but even after Mandela became president there were tribal uprisings and violence even during Truth & Reconciliation. If all this sounds defeatist it is, and will be until Islamist text books are cleansed of hate preaching (as promised by UN) and inciting children to seek paradise via suicide and murder.

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Gary Katz • May 14, 2015 at 00:27

If you don't mind reading a rather long article, this piece by Martha Gellhorn (former war correspondent and journalist), published in "The Atlantic" in 1961, shows that nothing has changed in decades. If not for certain references which date the article, the reader would not know it was published 54 years ago; it could've been written yesterday. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1961/10/the-arabs-of-palestine/304203/.I find that very sad.

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Lorraine Fox • May 13, 2015 at 21:39

When the Jews were forced to leave Arab countries they were welcomed in Israel. When the Arabs ran from Israel, when promised by their leaders that they will return, no Arab countries welcomed them. With the help of the United Nations, the teaching of hate in their schools, the false negotiations their leaders engaged in with Israel the stalemate and hatred of Israel continues. They want Israel to become a Palestinian state and will continue to fight instead of coming to an agreement on boundaries.

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Markus E Brajtman • May 13, 2015 at 04:27

The Arabs and the Arab-dominated UN conveniently forgot about the +/- 850,000 Arab Jews who were expelled from their homes, businesses etc, and have never been compensated. This runs into many billions of USD.

First sort this out, then maybe Israel will have something to give the refugees who numbered about the same.

NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WOULD ALLOW TENS OF MILLIONS INTO THEIR LANDS.

The entire land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River was given to the Jews thousands of years before the birth of Islam.

The Jews have every right to live in their own biblical lands without being told that they "stole" Arab lands.

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steven L • May 12, 2015 at 22:39

Knowing all these facts, what does Israel have to gain with procrastination?No matter what Israel does she will be criticized.She should secure herself no matter what anyone says.Bibi lacks courage, vision or both!

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Michael Fox • May 12, 2015 at 16:07

The tragedy for the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians is that they are checkmated by their own inability to come to terms with reality while their leadership lacks the courage to speak to truth. So, those Arab dictators who control the ignorant masses through deceit and promises they can't deliver on, line their pockets through financial handouts from the international community. Handouts that were intended to make life easier for a people who in all of history, never had an easy life. And like a circle of helplessness, the infinite cycle connects with hopelessness in an unending narrative of human tragedy.

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doug • May 12, 2015 at 12:42

I read the article and it seems we are talking to ourselves here and no one is reading or listening. Not surprised at all. The Hamas propaganda machine is equivalent to the Nazis and the communists and well functioning. Time to get these article in the real newspapers and not just here.

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Ken Kelso • May 12, 2015 at 12:41

John Kerry should know: Saying that is it time for the Palestinians to make concessions is the end of the peace talks.

Because Palestinians and concessions don't work together...

The Palestinians will never experience a civilized culture or community as long as their corrupt, racist, religiously intolerant leaders and elders promote terrorism and hatred towards non-Muslims.

The only plan Israel can offer that is acceptable to the Palestinians is one in which Israel becomes a Palestinian Muslim majority and Palestinian Muslim ruled.

They will never agree to any agreement as long as Israel remains a Jewish state.

All I see is the Palestinians provoking war and using any method they can to get all of Israel.

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Graham Ford • May 12, 2015 at 08:55

The photograph of the symbolic key at the refugee camp carries two messages none should miss. First, the camp is not a camp at all -- it is a built up urban area.

Second the 'key' in the photograph is an adapted missile, with the obvious meaning that the Palestinians intend to wage war until they win and all the Jews are killed.

Only this key is not located in Hamas-controlled Gaza but in PA controlled Bethlehem.

How does one (i.e. Israel) come to an agreement with someone intent on the destruction of both you and your family (the PA and Hamas)?

It is time for the world to relinquish this farce of supporting the PA, or even Hamas, and support the only democratic government in the region with any sensible values -- Israel.

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Daniel Josef • May 12, 2015 at 07:21

The Arab Bedouin who called themselves Palestinians - they never belonged to that place. The land of Israel shall remain the land of Abraham Isaac Jacob
God bless Israel

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